How Tufts Medicine's CHRO tamed recruitment chaos with predictive analytics

Through innovative management, strategic technology implementation, and thoughtful AI exploration, Sabrina Granville is showing healthcare leaders how to build agility into talent acquisition.

How has your approach to talent acquisition agility evolved during challenging times?

At Tufts Medicine, we've been navigating a major financial turnaround post-COVID. One of our biggest wins has been completely transforming how we manage our open requisitions — something that sounds simple but is actually a common pain point across organizations. People often get stuck arguing about what positions are getting approved, what they're recruiting for, and then requisitions get taken down unexpectedly. We found a way to use predictive analytics to bring order to this chaos. I use that term a bit loosely — it's less glamorous than it sounds, but incredibly effective.

The results have been remarkable. First, recruiters now work with stable requisitions they're actually recruiting for, with much less variability. Second, leaders feel more in control of their resources. They might not have unlimited headcount, but they own their space. And finally, as senior executives, we've prevented requisition creep. What used to consume enormous amounts of time is now a fine-tuned process that runs smoothly.

How do you balance internal capabilities with external partnerships for greater agility?

We've built flexibility into our system while maintaining discipline. For example, we've created specific exceptions that don't count against a department's requisition allotment — like new graduates or certain leadership positions when there's turnover. These exceptions often involve partnerships, particularly with students and educational institutions. We didn't want to create unintended consequences from our new process. The goal was to stay within our means while still allowing for strategic growth and development pathways.

What role does technology play in enabling agility in your talent approach?

We successfully implemented Workday about three years ago, and while the implementation was challenging, we did it quickly and effectively. Now people truly see it as our system of record — something we never had across our entire healthcare platform before. We continue to build on our initial implementation, adding modules and capabilities, and people are actively using and relying on them. We've created an operating model in HR and beyond that leverages the tool effectively. It might sound like something everyone should be able to do, but it's amazing how many organizations struggle post-implementation.

The analytics capabilities have been particularly valuable. We combined historic requisition data, turnover information, leave of absence patterns, and time-to-fill metrics using both Power BI and Workday Analytics to develop our requisition management process. People trust the system because they see we're using real data to inform decisions, not just assigning arbitrary numbers.

Where do you see the most practical applications of AI in HR?

I'm part of several healthcare HR groups, including Vizient, which connects academic medical centers across the health system. These forums have been invaluable for hearing about real AI use cases rather than just vendor pitches. It's helped me balance the noise from vendors with practical applications.

I see three primary areas where AI can deliver immediate value. First, in performance management — performance appraisals, improvement plans, and related documentation. We should be using AI here without hesitation. We don't think of spell check as cheating, right? We've long since let our kids use spell check for everything.

Second, in talent acquisition — helping us analyze job profiles, match resumes, and identify the candidates we should actually be talking to. This area will require more testing and observation, but the potential is clear.

The third application, which I find particularly fascinating, is using AI to analyze complex HR cases and investigations. Trusted colleagues have shared how loading case information into AI tools has revealed critical questions they hadn't considered — questions essential to the investigation that human minds might miss due to time constraints or interruptions. I can think of at least five examples where AI asked a crucial question that nobody thought of despite everyone's best efforts. That's the exciting part of AI for me — it helps us see what we're missing.

What governance frameworks have you established around AI implementation?

We're still developing our approach. Our corporate compliance team and others are working on this, but I'm determined to be directly involved. I've made it clear to our CEO that this isn't just an IT or compliance issue — it's fundamentally a people issue, and HR needs to be at the table.

We have leaders throughout the organization spending time on tasks that could be drastically improved through AI, allowing them to spend more time leading their staff or caring for patients. That's the future of work, enabled through AI. So while our governance framework is still in progress, ensuring HR has a central role in shaping it is something I'm passionate about.

How has your partnership with Cielo evolved to support your changing talent needs?

We've worked with Cielo for years now, initially as a full RPO partner when we had significant gaps in our internal capabilities. As our needs changed, we've shifted to a consultative relationship.

Many vendors would simply move on through this kind of change, but with Cielo, almost the opposite has happened. They've become even more of a thought partner, bringing together strong, hand-picked colleagues who face similar challenges for both virtual and in-person collaborations. They've initiated creative discussions on topics like this one, and genuinely sought feedback on how they can improve. They ask questions like “Is this time well spent?” and “What did we miss that we could do better?”

Everyone I work with at Cielo knows how much I appreciate a partnership that goes beyond just tracking requisition fills to becoming a true thought partner. They’ve evolved alongside our changing needs rather than getting stuck in a rigid “this is what we offer; this is what we do, this is our contract” mindset. They understand that an inflexible “my way or the highway” approach isn't helpful to either party. That kind of adaptability has been invaluable during our transformation journey.